Santa and Christmas Day

We are now home after a magical week away at Ribby Hall in Lancashire.  I can honestly say we have had one of the best Christmases ever.  From my magical belated Flash Mob proposal to our Blackpool day out to spending time together as a family, everything has been perfect.  Ribby Hall has been a perfect location for our Christmas.

Everyone loved the Poppy Cottage accommodation we had called home for the week.  The tree made us feel really festive and Freddy loved looking at the baubles (and occasionally throwing them across the room).  The cottage was well equipped, clean, comfy and spacious.  There was plenty of room for all six of us.  My parents, my eldest son Joe and his girlfriend Jade lived next door.  It worked really nicely, getting together for meals and entertainment, but having space for Grandad to watch the horse racing on Boxing Day in peace!

The kids visited Santa on Christmas Eve following a wonderful breakfast and story time session in the Bar and Grill.  It was my parents' 56th wedding anniversary and to see them have such a magical time was a joy for us all.  The staff could not have been more friendly and welcoming.  Nothing was too much trouble for them.  The veggie fry-up option was impressive.  Usually vegetarian alternatives feel like they are second class versions of their meaty counterparts...but this breakfast was just as good.

My Family feeling festive!

Kizzy had written a beautiful letter for Santa which she hand delivered when she visited the magical treehouse at Ribby Hall.

Writing to Santa

It was a chilly morning but our spirits kept us warm as we sang Christmas songs waiting for our turn to visit the main man himself.  Freddy was getting a bit grumpy but his tears stopped when he climbed the stairs to the treehouse.  Santa was just amazing.  He chatted to the girls and Freddy.  He was up on popular culture and engaged in some TOWIE banter with my older two.  It was so wonderful when he read Kizzy's letter.  She had written such a lovely letter offering to help Santa and thinking of those less fortunate, that Santa actually was reduced to tears.  Whereas many kids want iPads and DS's, Kizzy had thought of her family and children in need around the world.  It was so touching and the most magical Santa experience we've ever had.  When Kizzy received a personal reply from Santa on Boxing Day, she was over the moon.  It made her year!

Kizzy and Santa

Christmas Eve continued with an arts and crafts session which was completely free.  Kizzy and Freddy decorated gingerbread men, made calendars, cards, Christmas decorations and snowflakes.  It was lovely.

I have never had Christmas Dinner in a restaurant before.  We made the decision to eat at the Bar And Grill which had become a favourite eatery during the course of the week, with its friendly staff, beautiful food presentation and imaginative vegetarian options.  We were not disappointed.  The five course meal consisted of a creamy garlic mushroom with black truffle starter, followed by a tomato soup.  The main was a delicious goat's cheese and caramelised onion parcel wrapped in filo pastry served with  seasonal vegetables, roast potatoes and gravy.  Brian Turner's Butlin's restaurant could take a leaf out of Ribby Hall's book when it comes to feeding vegetarians a Christmas dinner!  Pudding was a homemade trifle which was light and a perfect choice to round off the meal, followed by coffee and chocolates.  The place was beautifully and tastefully decorated, the staff were efficient and remained friendly throughout.  The food was excellent and the service was slick.  I was worried beforehand that there may have been a 'school dinner' feel to the meal, but I was totally wrong.  It was worth every penny and the relaxing atmosphere with a singer crooning some nostalgic songs in the background made for a wonderful festive dinner.  It was lovely to have space for us all around a table together, something we can't do at home as we don't have the room for us all.

Me and My Five Babies

Ready for Dinner

Cheers!

A stroll back to our accommodation which included a quick play in the outdoor adventure playground really made for a wonderful Christmas Day.  There was entertainment in the evening at the resort, but we spent our evening in our cosy cottage playing family board games I had received from University Games.  Ella entertained us with sing along Christmas songs to round off an amazing day.

Nan and Grandad x

Christmas Fun for Freddy!

For details on the resort and booking information check out www.ribbyhall.co.uk. 

*I have not received anything to post these reviews.  I am sharing my experience because I would highly recommend it to anyone!*

How To Make Pizzas With Elves!

Today, Freddy and Kizzy had the pleasure of making pizzas with Santa's Elves at Ribby Hall!  Assisted by their big sisters Megan and Ella, they joined in the pizza making activity.  Josh the Christmas chef and DJ 'Chappers' along with two lovely elves demonstrated and helped as the kids shaped dough and topped their pizzas.  Freddy loved being covered in flour, eating handfuls of grated Mozzarella and smearing tomato sauce liberally over his pizza.

Ready for action at Ribby Hall Bar & Grill.

Flattening out the dough.

Getting Saucy!!

How much cheese can you get on a pizza?

Ready for the Pizza Oven!

I was really impressed that the chef on realising we were vegetarians, put the finished pizzas on their own tray.    While they were cooking, the children had the opportunity to have a quick boogie on the dancefloor, doing the YMCA and the Conga.  There was a real party atmosphere and Freddy, as ever, loved partying with his big sisters who dote on him.

Ribby Hall Conga

When the pizzas had been cooked, the kids were all invited back into the restaurant area to have a Pizza Feast.  The plated pizzas looked great and Freddy's verdict of "Mmmm Delicious Pizza!" was spot on.  We all shared the pizzas and they were seriously good.  Lovely doughy base, garlicky, tomato sauce and an abundance of Mozzarella!!

Kizzy's Pizza

Blowing his pizza as it was hot!

Yummying it up!

This was such a lovely activity for the children.  Freddy was the youngest child there but he loved every messy moment and was encouraged by the staff, even when he was making a mess!  Kizzy really enjoyed her pizza too!  Afterwards, Freddy fell asleep for 3 hours.  All the partying is tiring him out.

Tomorrow we are heading off to Blackpool which is just ten minutes up the road.  We have tickets to review the Dungeons with the older children which will be interesting!  So watch this space for some scarier stuff this Christmas.  Ribby Hall really is extremely well located, a tranquil, rural setting which is very close to the hustle and excitement of Blackpool and its attractions.

As Freddy was so exhausted, I took my girls out for a meal at the Bar & Grill, leaving Daddy and Freddy in the cottage to relax.  Nana and Grandad decided to join us for dinner.  The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and the food was lovely with a Vegetarian Specials Board which gave us lots of options.  We chose the Mushroom and Leek Carbonara which was really tasty and presented really nicely.  We'll be having our Christmas Lunch here so I'm looking forward to that.  The restaurant is very relaxed, definitely a benefit with kids!  Our waitress offered to split our bill and nothing was too much trouble.

The girls and the grandparents x

Another lovely day at Ribby Hall!  My eldest son and his girlfriend will be joining us tomorrow night and we have a Pantomime to watch in the evening.  So it'll be a fun and busy day.  We haven't even checked out the swimming pool or sports facilities yet.  There is just so much to do!

Ribby Hall Village for Christmas

In the Lancashire countryside, nestled in the Ribby Valley is a holiday village, Ribby Hall.  With clusters of lovely cottages built around a range of sports and leisure activities it really is the perfect place to take a well earned family break.

We are here this Christmas, taking a year off from the stress of doing Christmas at home, although the stress of packing for six plus pressies was pretty testing!  Thank goodness we have a Galaxy to cram everything in.

We decided to book Ribby Hall for Christmas after Googling places to stay for Christmas.  We've done Centre Parcs for this time of year twice, but I was shocked by their price hikes.  It would have cost us over £3000 for five days!  I could be sunning myself abroad for less than that!  For half the price we found Ribby Hall where we have two six berth cottages next door to each other.  Plus unlike Centre Parcs all the evening entertainment, lots of kids' activities and the Panto are completely free, saving us even more cash.

As we had room for 12 we invited my parents to join us.  They were happy to take a break from their cosy Christmas a deux, to join our family for our festive break.  My children adore their grandparents so everyone was happy.

By some fluke in the space time continuum, my parents and ourselves arrived at exactly the same time.  We found our cottages and were incredibly impressed with how lovely they were.  They are recently refurbished with feature walls, nice fixtures and fittings and have amazing beds!

The kitchen is well equipped and clean.  We get Freeview channels so the teens aren't E4 deprived.  We even have an ensuite bathroom which is great for a bit of extra showering space for a house full of girls.

We experienced the evening entertainment which involved an enthusiastic DJ, a Wizard, Duck and Squirrel, a comedian that took a shine to my mum and a singer who was a cross between Lee Evans and Michael Buble!     It was good fun and Freddy absolutely loved dancing with his sisters.  He even won a Punch Balloon from the Duck for his dancing!  The Christmas Quiz was right up our street and I stormed to victory with full marks in festive trivia and Xmas Song intros.  As ever there were a few accusatory shouts of cheating...but all in good humour!  I love a good quiz...no cheating required!!  We won a bottle of "champers" and two light up toys that Freddy loved!

First night has been hailed a success.  We are now off to make pizza with elves!

Freddy not too impressed by the giant animals being that close!

Having fun with nana.